525@Vine and Inmar Headquarters:
Congratulations to developer BioMed Realty Trust! The Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits announced 525@Vine and the Inmar Headquarters as the winners of the Major Community Impact Award at the 2014 Historic Rehabilitation Awards, which recognize exceptional achievement in preservation using the historic rehabilitation tax credit (HTC). The awards were received at the Historic Tax Credit Conference, last week, at The Drake Hotel in Chicago. This will be the first of many awards for these two buildings. Their last building won a large variety of awards.

525@Vine
Credit: WFIQ

525@Vine
Credit: Linville Team

Plant 64 Lofts:
The first units were leased July 1! If you want a "factory loft" apartment downtown, you have to lease early! You can't wait. Thankfully, this apartment complex has two more buildings, still under construction, offering more chances to lease here! According to the leasing office, the entire Plant 64 Complex will be completed by December 20.

Amenities include a pool with a patio and an area for grilling, a conference center with a TV, a fitness center, a yoga studio, and a basketball court. The development will also have a conference center that both residents and nonresidents can reserve. The developer has preserved many of the complex's original features, including a scale and a lift shaft. The power plant has been kept completely intact. The energy cost for each loft is around $55.

Civic Plaza:

City of WS

Bailey Park @ East End:
WSTB forum member, rmhpmi, posted an awesome update on Bailey Park @ EE. I will only share two of the photographs. One from Thursday and one from yesterday. If you would like to see more, be sure to visit his post at WSTB and thank him for the update. As you can see, this is a performance stage for movies, performing arts, and music. The steps are leading up to the seating area, taking advantage of the natural steep sloping terrain. The structure you see is for restrooms and storage. They haven't built the concession stand or stage. However, you can see workers pouring the foundation for the stage! The stage should rise-up very soon! This part of Bailey Park will also have a food truck courtyard, with places to sit and eat outside! Keep in mind, they are only working on a third of the park right now and will complete the other two-thirds in a second phase a year or two from now. They need the southern end of the park to stage construction for the medical school and Bailey Power Plant. Those two projects are expected to start construction around October, when the first phase of this park is completed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmhpmi @ WSTB

The Edge Flats:
The first of The Edge's two towers has topped-out! They had a topping-out lunch, for the workers, on the 21st.

Credit: edgeflats

Credit: edgeflats

Credit: edgeflats

National Olympic Cycling Center:
According to someone at WSTB, a fundraiser has been set for 2015, to support the proposed Olympic Cycling Center in downtown Winston-Salem! This is proposed for an historic building on Liberty Street and will include a health food grocery store and cafe, open to downtown residents. Cyclists training for the Olympics will live in apartments on the top floor, with a nice skyline view.

Bailey Power Plant:
SciWorks will also have a fundraiser in about 4-5 months from now, to help pay for their move to Bailey Power Plant. I would like to encourage everyone who loves downtown to donate to them. This move will be good for both SciWorks and downtown.

The Hut Indoor Skatepark:
The new skate ramps are completed!

Credit: Jerry Cooper

1814 Salt Flax House:
An update on this 200 year old house's restoration, in Winston-Salem's Old Salem National Landmark District.

Credit: WIlson-Covington Construction

Mixxer Makerspace:
This will likely become the next tenant in the IQ District. "MIXXER will take advantage of the power of sharing to make it possible for people to take their great ideas from vision to reality." If you want to join them, contact Alan @wsmixxer.org There is also a makerspace currently in design for Fifth Street that should start construction very soon. Makerspaces are awesome!

National Center for Design Innovation:
Dr. Pamela L. Jennings was named director of the National Center for Design Innovation, effective October 1.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camel City Dispatch

Dr. Jennings is a former National Science Foundation program officer in the Computer Information Science and Engineering directorate. She led the NSF CreativeIT and co-managed the Human Centered Computing research funding programs. She focused on the development of pathways to integrate creative cognition, design theories and creative practices in the fine, performing and applied arts with science and technology research. While at the NSF, Jennings along with senior administrators from the National Endowment for the Arts organized the first-ever joint workshop between the two agencies in support of art, science, and technology research and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education. As a research director at the Banff New Media Institute, Jennings led the Advance Research Technology lab. Building from its core technologies in 3D visualization along with an international staff, she transitioned the research focus to rapid prototyping and computational design. She also served as the founding director of the Shapiro Center for Research and Collaboration. Through a first of its kind joint professorship at Carnegie Mellon University between the School of Art and the Human Computer Interaction Institute, Jennings explored the synergies between digital media, interaction design, and design of complex systems, software programming and embedded computing. Jennings received several grants from the National Science Foundation to support her research and network building efforts in the art, science and technology community.

Jennings earned her Ph.D. in human centered systems design and digital media at the University of Plymouth, UK and her M.B.A. at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. She also holds an M.F.A. in computer art from the School of Visual Arts in New York, an M.A. in studio art from the International Center of Photography/New York University program, and a B.A. in psychology from Oberlin College.

New Mural:
The Downtown Arts District Association has a photograph of downtown's newest mural!

Credit: DADA Neighborhood

743 Area Code:
In the fall of 2016, Winston-Salem will have a second area code. If you already have a 336 number, you can keep it. Only new numbers will use the 743 area code.

Old Salem 1766 Campaign:
Susan Cameron is the third chair-person of Old Salem Museums & Gardens’ On Common Ground capital campaign. RAI has provided a lead gift of $750,000. The campaign goal is $17.66 million. As of June 30th, $14.6 million has been raised. An additional $1.6 million in collections of Southern decorative arts has been contributed to the MESDA Museum.

Bookmarks Festival:
Bookmarks is the only book festival in North Carolina. This is the festival's 10th year and it's free! The opening night speaker for Bookmarks this year is James Patterson, who holds the Guinness record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers of any author. This year’s list of authors is very impressive: They have written a cumulative 150 New York Times bestsellers and are winners of prestigious awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Coretta Scott King Honor Award, among many others. If you love books, this is a must visit festival in the Festival City! There are a variety of activities for the entire family! Bookmarks is a 10 day festival, starting September 5th, in downtown Winston-Salem's Theatre District.

New Music:
Winston-Salem based Phuzz Records will release new albums from The Tills and TOW3RS. The Tills’ “Howlin’” will be pressed into a 7-inch vinyl record and will also be available digitally today. It was recorded and mixed in Winston-Salem by Mitch Easter at his Fidelitorium Recordings, a studio that has produced the likes of R.E.M. and Suzanne Vega.

Winston-Salem Open:
Lukas Rosol, of the Czech Republic, won the Winston-Salem Open on Sunday. He defeated Poland's Jerzy Janowicz for his second career ATP Tour title. Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia defeated Jamie Murray of Great Britain and John Peers of Australia 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles final of the Winston-Salem Open. Jamie Murray is the brother of Andy Murray, the 2013 Wimbledon champion.

Don't forget to visit Winston-Salem's art museums, if you're visiting or moving to this city! This city does have world class art collections, due to the art donations from the city's wealthy industrialists over the years.

Pepper Building:
Still waiting for a possible big announcement from the Pepper Building and U.S. Development. We will celebrate a construction start date, as usual, with a massive photography post.

Village Lofts:
The Village Lofts, in the historic BRD Building, will open a model unit you can tour very soon. This building has smaller units. You can rent a 376 square foot space for around $750 a month ($2 a square foot). This is in the popular "DaDa" Downtown Arts District neighborhood.

$2 Per Square Foot:
It does appear as if downtown Winston-Salem has reached the "magic number" of $2 per square foot that so many people on this forum talk about. This is more impressive when you see construction in Winston-Salem averages 11% cheaper than other cities, according to Reed. Downtown apartments in Winston-Salem are becoming smaller and more expensive. From what other forum members have posted here, reaching $2 a square foot makes it easier to gain financing to do larger projects and it attracts bigger developers. We have seen both in Winston-Salem. The Village Lofts is about to open, with prices at $2 a square foot. The Pepper Building is the latest to start construction (I think it's under construction, but not 100% sure) and it is expected to be around $2 a square foot. The luxury apartments in Kimpton's new hotel, which are already under construction, are expected to be the most expensive in Winston-Salem, but we haven't seen any numbers at this time.

IQ District Seeks Brownfield Designation:
The Innovation Quarter and its development affiliates are requesting brownfield designation, for a 28 acre downtown site. They have proposed nearly a billion dollars in mixed-use development for the site, according to the brownfield request. 5-6 million square feet of office & laboratory space, park space, retail, a concert hall, a school, a hotel, and high density residential are proposed there. We should see their plans in the next few months. Designating this site as a brownfield allows the developer to receive state tax credits to help offset the cost of cleaning up and developing property. Developers expect 10,000 employees in downtown's IQ District by the end of 2017. Eric Tomlinson said “We’ve got a prime site in an urban setting, which has all of its utilities and transportation requirements. It’s an amazing site, actually. We want to make sure that we propose a truly remarkable development for that site, and are trying to get that ready. We’re not too far away from starting to get this out in the community.” This is where a possible 13-storey building is proposed and the IQ's development team said they are already in talks with tenants for that first building! I'm excited!

Central Library:
County commissioners will vote this month on a contract with a moving company to move everything out of the library and place it in storage. Some items were already moved out of the Central Library. The Forsyth County Public Library and Ratio Architects have also launched a website to solicit public input on the role a renovated library will play in the community. newforsythcountylibrary.mindmixer.com

New Winston Museum:
The New Winston Museum is moving to downtown in the next 24 months. They have outgrown their current space and view downtown as the place to be. They also plan to offer historic photographs and other materials for free online! We could have material from the NWM on this thread very soon!

Prism Tower:
New renderings and technical drawings for the 350 foot tall (106.7 m) Prism Tower! It appears as if it has 28 floors, but is the height of a 30-storey building. The floor-to-ceiling height is 12 feet (3.7 m). The observation floor is 230 feet (70.1 m) above street-level. The highest floor is 324.5 feet (99 m) above the street.

Credit: Andrew Koh

1814 Salt-Flax House:
Wilson-Covington Construction has several large images of the work they are completing at the 200 year old Salt-Flax House. If you're following this, their blog is a must visit! I'll post smaller versions for this thread, but you can visit their blog and see the larger images.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wilson-Covington Construction

The house has been temporarily shored, the basement dug out approximately 2′, and a new CMU foundation wall laid underneath on a footing. This wall will be filled solid and waterproofed on the outside. This will allow for structural stability and for the owner to finish the basement to be a mechanical room, office, scullery, kitchen/dining area, and powder room.

Mast General Store:
Construction workers are refinishing the original wood floors, in the massive Mast General Store space. Mast General Store is usually found in touristy downtowns, in the mountains. This is a nice retail addition for downtown Winston-Salem!

Credit: DWSP

A flashback to when it was new:
Credit: Brown Rogers Dixon

According to BRD, this was the first hardware store in the United States with a soda fountain. It was a huge hardware store!

New City Park: New To This Thread!
This lake, featuring a 130-foot tall bluff, could become a 220 acre park, if you vote YES for the bonds. The lake features crystal clear water, sheer granite rock cliffs and the acres of rolling and lush vegetation. Voting yes for the bonds will provide $4 million to start construction on Phase I, which includes an elevated boardwalk through the trees leading from the top to the water’s edge to picnic shelters and an amphitheater, with a beautiful view of downtown. The park is around two miles (a little over 3 km) from downtown. Construction would start as soon as the bonds pass and the first phase could open by next summer. The lake features brim, carp, catfish, jellyfish, and bass, that swim to your boat. While unusual in other parts of the state; Jellyfish are actually common in the mountain region of North Carolina.

IMG College Expansion:
IMG College is now seeking acquisitions to grow and may have to build a new building downtown or lease additional space in an existing building downtown. Ben Sutton anticipates IMG College will make multiple acquisitions in the next 4-6 months! Ben Sutton says he's used to seeing new faces and less space, for a growing work force downtown. Sutton declined to offer specifics about companies they are in acquisition talks with or other services lines that may be unveiled.

West Salem Townhomes: New To This Thread!
Infill construction has returned to the area near the Old Salem Visitors' Center in West Salem.

Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

More Jobs?
SunCap is seeking to rezone 24.6 acres for a mystery tenant!

Hanes GeoComponets Expansion:
Hanes Geo Components in Winston-Salem will acquire ERO-TEX. No word on how many jobs this will create for Winston-Salem?

B/E Aerospace:
B/E Aerospace is now spun-out as a Winston-Salem based headquarters. Winston-Salem resident Werner Lieberherr is the new CEO. It is expected to become Winston-Salem's 4th largest headquarters and a possible Fortune 500 headquarters? It should be very close to the Fortune 500 and it would be awesome to have 4 Fortune 500s headquartered in Winston-Salem! This is a company that is always hiring, if you need a job!

United Furniture:
United has now acquired the historic 850,000 square foot Weeks Plant; which was once the world's largest textile factory. It closed several years ago; so it's good to see it return to use again, with an $11 million renovation! Since it will remain industrial, this is not adaptive reuse. The company could create 500 new jobs in Winston-Salem. This is on the far north end of the city, for those who want to know.

Innovation Quarter:
We often talk about the buildings, but rarely talk about the research in downtown's IQ District! Here are just a few of the research projects, in downtown's IQ District, you may find interesting. They include a technique for using the human body’s magnetic system to improve MRI scans; a hi-tech fabric that converts body heat to energy (could become a battery charger); Joel Stitzel, Ph.D. and Toyota have created an Advanced Auto Crash Notification system that will reveal a vehicle’s crash data to help first-responders; and TLR5 has a vaccine for bubonic plague in development. The vaccine has been so successful in early tests that the National Institutes of Health has fast-tracked the research and provided extra funding. Steven B. Mizel, Ph.D., has obtained a patent for the vaccine and is about to start Phase II clinical trials.

Credit: Doug Rice

Gigabit Network:
North State plans to expand its gigabit footprint to Winston-Salem. North State will join AT&T's GigaPower in providing gigabit speeds to Winston-Salem.

Hanging Rock State Park:
Hanging Rock State Park is expanding by 716 acres. The former Vade Mecum Springs property, along with Moore Springs Campground, will be merged into the park. Vade Mecum Springs was developed in the 1890s as a resort. Vade Mecum's complex has nine miles of mountain biking trails, a lodge, a recreation hall, a swimming pool, 13 cabins, an equestrian barn and trails, athletic fields, and access to the Dan River.

Former Vade Mecum Springs:
Credit: Fox 8 WGHP

Penelope Niven:
Winston-Salem lost another of it's great writers. Penelope Niven, an acclaimed biographer in Winston-Salem, died Thursday, at Wake Forest University Medical Center. Among Niven’s most notable work was the biography she wrote on editor and writer Carl Sandburg. In 1993, Niven co-authored with James Earl Jones “Voices and Silences,” a book that earned praise as a classic on acting. She also received an International Reading Association Prize for “Adventures of a Poet” in 2003. Niven was awarded two honorary doctorates, three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Thornton Wilder Visiting Fellowship at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, among other honors. She received the North Carolina Award in Literature, the highest honor the state bestows on an author. She lectured throughout the United States and in Switzerland, Canada and Wales; served as an editor for various publications; and was a consultant for television films on Sandburg, Jones, and Steichen.

Bike to Work:
Have you moved to downtown or a neighborhood near downtown? Take advantage of your short commute and try bicycle commuting! There is a great biking community in Winston-Salem and this city works hard to become bike & pedestrian friendly. This isn't me in the story below. It's another Matt. I like posting some of these stories to show people who are biking to work and maybe encourage someone here to do the same!

Credit: City of Winston-Salem

International Village Festival:
Are you visiting Winston-Salem this weekend or are you new to the city and are looking for things to do? The reggae band, Lion Tracks, will headline the entertainment at the International Village Cultural Festival in downtown Winston-Salem, on Saturday, September 6th, from noon to 8 p.m., in Corpening Plaza Watergardens & Park. The event includes exhibitions of Indian, Scottish, Brazilian and Latin dance, African drummers, an Ethiopian fashion show, and Latin Rock music by SOL. The event features a vareity of food vendors. Take advantage of living in the "Festival City" and see one of these events.

I apologize for taking so long to reply back. It was a busy week for me. I was behind on the week's update too!

Prism Tower is a 350 foot tall (106.7m) tower; proposed for a location in downtown Winston-Salem's Theatre District, between Winston Square Park and the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts. It includes an observation deck on the 20th floor. The glass is actually prisms and will create a rainbow of colors during the day. At night, LEDs on the building will create a light show on the skyline. I think it may have meeting space and the lobby floor could contain part of a new performing arts stage in the park?

Wow, that's really funky. I can't think of anything else quite like that in the US. Would that be the tallest structure in Winston? How likely is it to be built, and would it actually be a 28 floor office building or just a partial building/observation tower type deal? Would be really interesting to see how it would fit in in the skyline.

Prism Tower should be a new 3rd tallest for Winston-Salem. The tallest skyscraper in Winston-Salem is the 460 foot tall (140.2 m) Wells Fargo Center, which has 34 floors. The second tallest is Winston Tower, at 410 feet tall (125 m) with 30 floors.

I originally thought it was observation and meeting space, with a possible stage on the ground floor. However, this latest information shows 28 floors, a roof height several floors above the observation deck, and a parapet. I've never seen a floor count on this project until now. Maybe they are considering adding apartments, to help move it forward? Whatever they do with, it should be a nice addition to the skyline! I guess we will see what happens with this one. I didn't know about this building until a few months ago. It usually takes a few years for structures like this to move forward. It also has an 18-storey hotel with artist lofts, a parking deck podium, and ground-level retail proposed across the street and I think they may build a skywalk connecting the hotel to the Prism Tower? It's an interesting project. With the library staying at their current location, Prism Tower is now the leading plan to rebuild Winston Square Park and its amphitheatre. That could explain why we are now seeing more detailed information?

The Theatre District seems to have their growth planned-out for the next few years. Among the projects proposed in the Theatre District are a National Black Theatre Hall of Fame, a new performing arts center with underground parking, a new park with water feature, Prism Tower, a signature tall art feature in the new park, and a plan to renovate the Stevens Center and bring luxury apartments back to the historic tower above it. It should be fun to follow!

Prism Tower:
It's back again. Prism Tower's model was made the "cover image" on September 6th, for the architect! I'm excited about this. It's appearing frequently this month, in several different places!

New City Park:
This proposed 228 acre park is actually much larger than I expected. They will use the $4 million from the bonds to finally open at least part of it to the public, but the entire project will cost $25 million. This is to become a regional tourist attraction. Attractions at the park would include a boardwalk, hiking trails, an amphitheater, picnic areas, campsites, a disc golf course, botanical gardens, a water park, glass bottom boat tours, and a zipline. William Royston said “We want to provide some experiences here that you can’t get anywhere else. We want this to be a regional draw, and so we’ve really thought outside the box and tried to be really creative with what we’ve wanted to propose here. There’s going to be so many opportunities and so many chances for you to do different things here, that you can come back 10 times and have a different experience every time.” The clear water is 150 feet deep, with rock faces rising another 150 feet above the water. The park will have views of both the Winston-Salem skyline and Pilot Mountain.

An interesting fact: The rock faces in this proposed Winston-Salem city park are actually a part of Pilot Mountain! It's one huge piece of rock that stretches from this park, just southeast of downtown Winston-Salem, to the mountain. It's also the rock under downtown. Royston, who is working on the park, said “You almost get the sense that you forget you’re in Winston. You normally would see these types of things on the Discovery Channel or out in Colorado." Opening the park will also prevent people from breaking into the site and jumping off the rock cliffs, which can crumble into the water.

Winston-Salem has so many beautiful natural features inside the city limits, like waterfalls, deep gorges, rock formations, ridges, waterways, etc.,. It's great to see this city finally transforming some of them into public parks! I'm excited about the bridge over the waterfall on the south side of downtown's IQ District too! That should be another amazing place to see! These natural features make Winston-Salem a unique, fun, and attractive place for people and businesses interested in moving here.

Link Apartments:
A look inside! Is this project officially built? I love these apartments! If you're interested in leasing: (877) 844-0001

Source: Link Apartments

Source: Link Apartments

Source: Link Apartments

Source: Link Apartments

Source: Link Apartments

Source: Link Apartments

The Edge Lofts:
An aerial view of Tower 2 in the multi-building project. The first two floors of this 7-storey building are parking floors.

Credit: The Edge Lofts

Big Winston Market:
This large downtown retail development is opening this month! I was told the roof in the center of this 1930s warehouse collapsed a few years ago, so the developer created a small courtyard, with a few covered parking spaces and an outdoor dinning area in the area where the roof collapsed. The parts of the building that could be saved are preserved!

Mast General Store:
This is a pedestrian bridge that will connect a city owned parking deck to Mast General Store and its apartments on the upper floors. Winston-Salem doesn't have parking requirements and this allows for shared parking or no parking, if the developer doesn't want any. Uretek Mid-Atlantic designed and built eleven micropiles for Mast General Store. They will function as deep foundations, on the exterior of the building, to support the new pedestrian bridge.

Credit: Uretek Mid-Atlantic

The Hut Indoor Skatepark:
The finished work looks great! I noticed they opened the top section up, to allow for more airflow.

Pepper Building:
I don't think the Pepper Building is moving forward at this time. I think it will be another month or two? The work we are seeing is a short-term pop-up gallery, while the developer's workers are clearing the upper floors. I think the pop-up gallery leased the space until October 31st? They are working on this large art installation, in the future restaurant space leased by a Brazilian steakhouse. Artists like to take advantage of the large windows, in buildings like this one, while the architects, preservationists, and engineers are still working on the final details. When U.S. Development does move forward with the Pepper Building, I will let you know!

Liberty Street Vendors Market: Built
Located around 15th Street; the $342,000 market is built and now ready for operation. This is a vendors market and will sell more than vegetables and fruit. Artists and craftspeople can sell their items here as well.

HanesBrands:
HanesBrands has finished their acquisition of DB Apparel in France. This acquisition will make HanesBrands Winston-Salem's third Fortune 500 company. HanesBrands said they should have revenue of $5.37 billion for 2014. There is a chance the new B/E Aerospace headquarters will give Winston-Salem 4 Fortune 500 headquarters?

Inmar Expands:
Downtown Winston-Salem technology company Inmar has expanded again, buying Millennium Process Coupon in Canada. Millennium Process is the largest processor of coupons in Canada. They process 80% of all coupons in Canada!

BB&T:
BB&T, headquartered in downtown Winston-Salem, has bought The Bank of Kentucky, doubling it's assets in Kentucky and entering Ohio for the first time. BB&T said the bank will expand further into the Ohio market in the near future. There is talk that BB&T may buy Huntington Bancshares in Columbus or KeyCorp in Cleveland. BB&T also expanded in Texas last week, with an acquisition of $2.3 billion in deposits from Citibank in Dallas and Houston. BB&T has nearly $200 billion in assets and is Winston-Salem's largest Fortune 500 company.

Gigabit Network:
The city of Winston-Salem has ratified an agreement with telecom giant AT&T, to bring the GigaPower network to the city with free installation or service at certain community centers and businesses. Mayor Allen Joines said the network will advance work in technology and medicine “to new levels of innovation and achievement.” How will this be used? This was interesting: Richard Phillips, at Winston-Salem's National Center for Design Innovation, said "In some cases, such as looking at how animals fly, we’ll scan each high-speed video to slow those motions down so they can be analyzed. The Department of Defense is interested because they want to build airplanes that fly like animals." Davenport, a transportation consulting firm in downtown Winston-Salem said “We have seven offices that all coordinate with our central server hub in Winston-Salem. We already are very dependent on the internet. We video conference every morning - kind of a ‘tailgate meeting’ for 15 minutes. Faster, more powerful, more robust internet would allow us to do more videoconferencing. With that kind of power we could do a lot more file sharing. The only limitation would be the amount of bandwidth at the other sites.” Service is expected to begin in Winston-Salem by the end of the year.

National Cancer Institute Grant:
More research money for researchers in the new 12-storey Comprehensive Cancer Center! Wake Forest University Medical Center will receive an $18 million, five-year grant as one of two cancer centers selected for the the National Cancer Institute's Community Oncology Research Program.

Fiesta:
Downtown Winston-Salem is the place to be for the 22nd Annual Fiesta street festival on September 13. Fiesta features Latino music on several stages, arts and crafts, authentic food vendors, a parade of flags, a running of the bulls, a healthy living area, and activities for kids. At this point, you're likely asking: What is the “Running of the Bulls?” The Camel City Thrashers, Winston-Salem’s Roller Derby team, will play the role of “the bulls” as they chase runners through downtown streets. The Thrashers will attempt to tag runners with a pool noodle filled with colored powder. If you're tagged, you're out. I've attended Fiesta a few times and love it!

9th Wonder & Kenneth Price:
Winston-Salem’s Grammy Award-winning producer 9th Wonder and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Kenneth Price will hold 3 free events in Annenberg Forum, in Winston-Salem, on Friday and they are open to the public. Kenneth Price will also present the Hometown Premier of his film “The Hip-Hop Fellow.” Winston-Salem's 9th Wonder has been active in the hip-hop community since 1997. The breakthrough of his career came in 2003, when he collaborated with Mary J. Blige, which won him his first Grammy. 9th Wonder is still active in hip-hop, producing music for Destiny’s Child, Ludacris, Murs, Drake and Nas. He is also still involved in Winston-Salem's hip-hop scene.

Maya Angelou Hip Hop Album:
The iconic words and lyrics of Winston-Salem's Maya Angelou will blend with hip-hop beats for a new album called "Caged Bird Songs." Shawn Rivera, the lead singer of R&B group Az Yet, and RoccStarr, who co-wrote Chris Brown's "Fine China," produced the 13-song set, to be released through Smooch Music on Nov. 4. The album is one of the last projects Angelou completed before she died. Rivera and RoccStarr started working on the album before Angelou knew of it. Once she was aware of it, she completely backed the project, which was recorded at Angelou's home in Winston-Salem. Caged Bird Legacy was recently founded to launch future Angelou projects; so look for other projects she had in the works at different levels of completion.

Historic Preservation:New to this thread!
The Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission unanimously recommended that the Old German Baptist Brethren Church be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Brethren was founded in Schwarzenau, Germany, in 1708. The religious sect became known as the German Baptist Brethren. They believed in a simple life and were opposed to slavery and war. They fled religious persecution in Germany and came to Germantown, Pa, in 1719. In 1775, John Burkhart, a son of those immigrants, moved to Forsyth County and started the church. The current building was built in 1860, by Alexander Hampton Ellis. This is the first step toward its restoration!

Sauratown Mountains:
We talked about the Sauratown Mountains a few weeks ago. I found a great photograph, looking from the observation deck at Hanging Rock, toward Pilot Mountain. You can also see Sauratown Mountain, with its transmission towers.

Salem Lake & Park:
If you're new to Winston-Salem, take the strollway from downtown to Salem Lake! Yes, this is just a short bike ride from downtown! This is a beautiful and very popular area. If you like to fish, this is a great place to do that. I think they allow horseback riding around the lake too?

This (image below) is the view from Antimatter, which is a company that makes music videos, album art, and band websites. Isn't that view awesome! Their building was built in 1895, as a warehouse. This is a great advertisement to move your business to downtown's IQ District!
Credit: Justin Reich

Be sure to welcome MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry to Winston-Salem's historic Washington Park Neighborhood, on the south end of downtown. She has her own liberal-leaning show on MSNBC on Saturday and Sunday mornings. She is also an author and the founding director of the Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race and Politics in the South, a research initiative that is moving with her to Winston-Salem.

Arcade Building:New to This Thread!
Wilson-Covington is now restoring downtown's historic 1901 Arcade Building. This 3-storey (4-floors, if basement is included) 113 year-old building will become a home accessories store called "Fourth and Trade." Apartment residents downtown should love this! The building will also include art, a gift shop, jewelry, a wine & beer bar, and a live music space. Very awesome! I'm considering following this construction project for the thread, since it appears to be such a large project. Construction will be completed December 1. Someone at WSTB said the building still has the original 113 year-old pressed-tin ceiling, hidden under the 1950s renovation. It also has a separate entrance for the second floor.

Credit: Wilson-Covington Construction

Third Floor Demolition:
Credit: Wilson-Covington Construction

Underdog Records:
Their new downtown store is almost completed! I think it opens this week? Airtype, which is headquartered on the other side of the intersection, designed the store's logo.

Hotel Monaco:
Interior demolition should finish in the next few weeks on this $63 million project. The contractor could begin the actual conversion to a hotel as soon as next month! Their goal is to open in Fall 2015, according to the developer. They expect to have a better feel for the design once interior walls have been removed, giving them a blank slate to build upon.

Credit: Della Lawson

Link Apartments:
They are still working on the inside and landscaping. ajr4187 posted an awesome update at WSTB. I'll only share part of one image. If you want to see the others, go there and thank that photographer for the update.

The Village Lofts:
The Village Lofts hired well-known designer Tim McLendon to select the finishes and design the apartments. Tim’s innovative design work has been featured on HGTV and in multiple national publications.

Winston-Salem Foundation:
This should be completed very soon. Both Frank L. Blum Construction and ajr4187 at WSTB provided an awesome update recently.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajr4187 @ WSTB

Credit: Frank L. Blum Construction

Credit: Frank L. Blum Construction

Bailey Park @ East End:
I think this is SSP's first look at the stage? The stairs and walkways to the seating area are complete. The update is from rmhpmi at WSTB. I only posted one photograph and resized it for our photography intensive thread. To see the originals, go there and thank him for the update.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmhpmi @ WSTB

Winston-Salem Region Veterans Affairs Hospital:
SSP's first look at this new $150 million building, located near Interstate 40. This 375,000 square-foot facility has recently topped-out and will be completed in December 2015. Workers are now entering the "dry in" phase, with the exterior of the building to be completed by December 2014. Lend Lease said the building will take advantage of natural light to promote healing and it will have a “green roof” that allows veterans to use the outdoor space to socialize. It will employ 600 people. A 100 acre business park is planned around the building.

The Bicycle Superhighway:
The elevated bike paths are expanding tonight, with a vote by city council to acquire additional ROW. This project will allow bicycles to travel above the streets and avoid stopping for traffic. It is expected to be several miles long, on an old rail line, and will include a walking path, rest areas with benches and water fountains, ramps, lighting, security cameras, emergency call stations, attractive landscaping, and a future light rail transit (LRT) line. Several buildings along this path have already built showers, lockers, and bike storage, to allow for bicycle commuting.

Removing Expressway Ramps Downtown:
The city has endorsed a plan to close and demolish expressway ramps on Main, Liberty, and Broad streets, which should allow for two-way traffic on those streets and will allow an effort to reconnect the lower downtown neighborhoods back to the core to move forward. This sounds exciting! I think Winston-Salem is the only city in the state doing anything like this? All of the bridges will be rebuilt to allow for bike lanes, landscaping, art, and they will appear significantly more attractive in materials and design.

Placemaking:

What is it like Downtown?
I always love the summer music and crowds on the weekends. It seems as if there is music and art everywhere.

Winston-Salem High School Among the Best:
The Early College of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools was ranked by Newsweek as one of the nation's top high schools. It also received their Gold Star.

Seis Miradas por Latinoamerica :
Winston-Salem will have a series of events honoring Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Pablo Neruda from Sept. 22-25. The events are part of Seis Miradas por Latinoamerica (Six Perspectives on Latin America) - an international multidisciplinary program organized to promote the richness of Latin-American culture through the arts and literature. Other participants include the Inter-American Development Bank, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas.

This is an Elementary & Middle School! #CityOfAdaptiveReuse
This is an old textile warehouse in downtown Winston-Salem, convered into an elementary and middle school! Awesome! If you're a young family, moving downtown, there are schools in the CBD.

Credit: adriennerosefromthedead

Wake Forest University:
Wake Forest is evaluating the status of campus life, climate, and equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning students. A campus-wide assessment of LGBTQ issues and concerns will be conducted, through the use of forums, listening groups and surveys. The university will also conduct research on best practices at other institutions. Wake Forest University said, This is a critical step in demonstrating our unwavering commitment to providing a safe, equitable and inclusive campus. “Only by listening to members of our community can we address the needs and concerns of Wake Forest LGBTQ students, faculty, staff, alumni and allies.”

Wild & Scenic Film Festival:
Winston-Salem's annual Clean Water Weekend will bring the The Wild & Scenic Film Festival to Winston-Salem on September 26. This is the largest environmental film festival of its kind! It will feature 31 films at multiple venues. A Yadkin River clean-up paddling event will be held on Sunday in celebration of World Rivers Day, sponsored by Clif Bar, Patagonia, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Mother Jones, Klean Kanteen, and Orion Magazine. Following the clean-up, join the World Rivers Day Celebration at Carolina Heritage Vineyard and Winery, North Carolina’s first certified organic winery, where you will find food, music and fellowship, in celebration of clean water. Tickets are $15 to $26 (children under age 12 admitted free). Come early and enjoy beer from Sierra Nevada and Foothills Brewing, local wine and local food trucks.

Carolina Silverhawks:
It appears as if tryouts are over and we should know who made the team very soon. If you love indoor football: Winston-Salem's Silverhawks football team will open the 2015 season in Ohio, with a game against the Cleveland Saints. Be sure to support your Silverhawks!

B/E Aerospace Engineering Development Lab:
According to the architect: The engineering development lab houses testing equipment, offices, and a training room. It also includes static and cycle testing stations, a burn test laboratory, and fabrication and painting equipment. A unique acceleration test sled with video monitoring and lighting system is likely the highlight of the project! The test sled (jet sled) was posted in this thread a few months ago. The structure of the building allows for a full free span over the testing area for maximum flexibility.

Credit: West & Stem Architects

Credit: West & Stem Architects

Credit: West & Stem Architects

705 North Main:New To This Thread!
The plywood is removed from the entrance and this project is now moving forward, with a new owner. Local advertising executive Brad Bennett, best known for Flywheel Co-Work, is the new owner. He has hired West & Stem as his architect. It was originally proposed as luxury condos. I'm not sure what their current plans are, but it is being redesigned and it appears as if work has already started? It would be awesome if this was the location for Mixxer? It could be tech company office space though? I guess we will see?

Source: GSV

Big Winston Market:BUILT!
Big Winston Market is completed and at least one of the stores is open for business, at the corner of Trade Street and 8th Street. This is a look at Black Mountain Chocolate's new headquarters and visible chocolate factory, in downtown Winston-Salem's Big Winston Market. If you buy a Black Mountain Chocolate Bar at Whole Foods Market in California, it is made in this factory in downtown Winston-Salem! The factory is designed to be viewed, as an attraction for the Downtown Arts District. Yes, you can buy items in this store too! Their products are organic and fair trade. Pastry chef, Megan Peters, also creates confections, pastries, gelato, drinking chocolate, pies, tea, and coffee in the on-site Chocolate Kitchen, visible to guests. The store & factory has both indoor and outdoor seating. Black Mountain Chocolate will have classes, guided tours and tastings that will allow people to experience chocolate in a new way.

Credit: Black Mountain Chocolate

Credit: Camel City Dispatch

The cocoa beans are roasted in the machine below and the machine is vented to Trade Street. This allows people in downtown Winston-Salem's Arts District (DaDa) to enjoy the smell and follow that smell to the visible factory!

Credit: Camel City Dispatch

Credit: Camel City Dispatch

Central Library:
Interior demolition begins on October 16. The finished library will open around April or May 2017.

The library will close on October 15, at 9 p.m.,. That is your last chance to visit the old library, before demolition.

Nash Building:

Credit: Nosilla Vintage

Credit: Nosilla Vintage

Credit: Nosilla Vintage

Bailey Park @ East End:
Construction workers are pouring concrete walkways and the concrete for the food truck courtyard. If you look closely, you'll see the concrete is in different colors. The bollards will have LED light fixtures on them, which should look awesome! This should be a great place downtown to see a concert or watch movies under the stars!

Ballpark Area:
Brookstown Development Partners was approved for an extension, to buy property near BB&T Ballpark, for $980,361. The buildings planned for these properties are expected to be residential and retail.

West End Mill Works:
City Council approved a $195,000 loan for further expansion of this mixed-use adaptive reuse project. The next phase of the adaptive reuse project will cost $1 million.

50 West Fourth Street:
At WSTB, the developer said they won't restore the original clocks. Photographs of this building are rare. I found this one while searching for the building behind it! It will become apartments and retail space.

Credit: Sarah Jenkins

Hotel Monaco:
Yes, the crown is orange. It was a different color, a week or two ago (Was it purple? I don't remember). In an older photograph, in this thread, you'll see it in blue. It's great to know Kimpton Hotels will continue this. It's great to see lights on inside too! Lights inside tells us they are working on interior demolition. If you're a contractor working on this building, please share a few interior photographs with us on Instagram! I usually try to look into the windows in these photographs. It does appear as if the ceilings are removed? It's difficult to see it, in the small photographs we have. Again, interior demolition should be completed very soon. Gensler is also working on this project. They worked on the Wells Fargo Center and Republic Mutual Buildings in downtown's Financial District.

Credit: Brian Hart

Plant 64:
I see progress on Building A, on the right. The Power Plant, on the left, is already completed. If you want an apartment in the next phase, you need to contact them now.

Credit: Plant 64 Lofts

Credit: West Webb

Placemaking:

Friday's Midnight Madness Event:
Credit: Zac Hagerty

Winston-Salem's Annual Park(ing) Day:
This is an event held every year in downtown Winston-Salem, and several other cities as well, which converts parking spaces into parks. Anyone can open a parklet in a parking space(s) on this day.

Most Powerful Women in Business:
Forbes Magazine has ranked Winston-Salem's Susan Cameron 36th on their list of The Most Powerful Women in Business.

Winston-Salem's OUT @ the Movies Film Festival ’14:
Some of the movies are already selected for Winston-Salem's LGBT Film Festival "OUT @ the Movies Fest ’14!" The festival will be held at several downtown Winston-Salem venues on November 14th to 16th. On October 1st, the film festival will announce the full slate of films as well as a list of actors and documentary subjects. In addition to the large yearly film festival in November, Out @ the Movies regularly shows films throughout the year. Queens at Court was screened in Winston-Salem last month and filmmaker Shiv Paul was thrilled with the turnout and the quality of questions and comments at the Q & A. He said it topped screenings in D.C. and Toronto. That is very impressive!

Old Salem Museum and Gardens receives a $150,000 grant towards the 2.2 million restoration of the Boys School. Built in 1794, will be used to feature early education in the settlement through interactive exhibits. This is a major part of the $17.66 million capital campaign initiative.
images from Old Salem Museum and Gardens

Linville Team Realty has purchased the former Contempo Concepts furniture store on 4th street for their new hq. The real estate office will occupy the ground floor and part of the mezzanine and lease out the top floor to one or mulitple office tenants. Their love for downtown drove them to the core. I hope they bring their free bike sharing to 4th as well!
image from loopnet.com

Salem College could be going through a growth spurt pretty soon?
A rezoning request was made earlier this month for the corner of Main and Cemetery St...steps from the Financial District. Theyre also actively seeking bids for an "East Campus." Im guessing this is the former lower half of the Innovation Quarter South District.

Bailey Power Plant:
A local architect has photographs of this building, including the interior, about a month before construction could start. I'm guessing Stitch Designshop is the local architect, working with Design Collective? Stitch is also the architect of Bailey Park @ East End. They do great work!

Link Apartments:
Grubb is now leasing the first 100 apartments in this 205 apartment development. Apartments lease fast in downtown Winston-Salem, which explains why this city is experiencing such a big apartment construction boom, attracting developers from multiple states! Can you believe they already leased half of these units and construction isn't completed on them! Amenities include granite counter tops, walk-in closets, stainless steel appliances, private patios, a cyber café, a saltwater pool, an athletic center, outdoor grills, a clubroom, secured parking, and an electric car charging station. Pets are allowed with restrictions. Everything is energy efficient from the appliances to the windows. This is what the developer (Rachel Russell, Director of Real-estate Development for Grubb Properties) had to say: “Winston-Salem is such a cool city and we love the downtown area. Grubb wanted to do a project in Winston-Salem because there is a need for more housing downtown. So that’s an investment opportunity for us. In addition, we’re growing our Link apartments brand. We’re trying to get Link apartments in all the major Southeast cities, and Winston-Salem is one that we’re really excited to be in.” The buildings are designed with multi-levels up to six floors. About 100 units will be completed by the first week of October. Construction should finish on all 205 units by the end of the year.

Third & Cherry Hotel:
CN Hotels has purchased the last properties needed to start demolition. The last tenants have also moved-out, according to WSTB. We could see something in this location very soon! This is inside the overlay, which requires a more "urban" design and higher quality materials.

S.I.D.E. Museum:BUILT!
Winston-Salem has several awesome and truly world class museums that attract people from around the world to this city. Have you visited the Chair Library at S.I.D.E. Museum? It is now open and anyone visiting Winston-Salem can see the exhibits, which include chair designs from famous architects we often talk about on this forum. S.I.D.E. is in Lower Downtown's Old Salem District, near the Cemetery.

Inmar Headquarters:
Design Collective won the 2014 Maryland AIA Citation in Commercial Architecture for their design work on Downtown Winston-Salem's Inmar Headquarters.

More Jobs:
This should help bring more development to the area! Several companies have asked about incentives in the past week, with plans to create nearly 500 new jobs. Talk about a busy week for local economic development officials!

The newly restructured Piedmont Triad Regional Development Corporation, headquartered near Winston-Salem's Union Cross Business Park, is also seeking a federal designation called "Economic Development District" for the area. The federal designation would open up more financing opportunities from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Placemaking:

Southeastern United Grape and Wine Symposium:
As you know, the Winston-Salem Metro Area is North Carolina's Wine Country. If you own a winery or are thinking about starting one, you'll want to attend this. It's scheduled for November 5-6 at the Shelton-Badgett North Carolina Center for Viticulture & Enology. From downtown Winston-Salem, take the John Gold Expressway north to Exit 11.

National Center for Design Innovation:
A feature science documentary, “Killer in the Caves”, produced in part by researchers from Winston-Salem State University and UNC School of the Arts, in collaboration with Winston-Salem's National Center for Design Innovation, has been recognized with an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Cinematography in a Documentary Film, by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The documentary was funded and distributed in North America by the Smithsonian Channel in collaboration with German production house, Taglicht Media. The production will be distributed globally by the National Geographic Society. After premiering at the Museum of Natural History in Washington DC in 2013, the film has received wide acclaim at multiple film festivals in Britain, Germany, and the United States. The film uses high-speed and thermal imaging not only to examine and push scientific and technological frontiers, but also to communicate scientific discoveries on a very visible global scale.

Projects & Construction:
Big news to report on SSP this week! We could soon have several new projects to follow on this thread! Two possible adaptive-reuse projects and two or more possible new-construction projects.

500 West Fifth Street: New To This Thread! #CityOfAdaptiveReuse
Brokerage CRBE said they are evaluating offers, by several regional developers, for the 21-storey former Integon Life Insurance Headquarters and the former Security Life & Trust Building. Together, the two buildings have around 520,000 square feet of space. Some sources say the two buildings are around 600,000 square feet? All of the tenants moved to other buildings in the city last month, to make way for a new owner and a major renovation. The adaptive reuse projects proposed by these developers are expected to cost between $50 to $100 million and include mixes of office, retail, and residential. Some are also proposing new construction, which I'm guessing is for the southern end of the former Security Life & Trust Building? None of the developers making offers were named. The 180,000 square foot Security Life & Trust Building was built in 1951 and will likely be demolished or reclad in glass? If you see it, you'll know why! Someone completely gutted it to the frame and reclad the Modernist structure in the 1960s, to give it an International-Style appearance, removing nearly all of the windows. The 21-storey Integon Life Tower was built in 1980 and has a beautiful wall of windows, offering a dramatic view of the Sauratown Mountains. This building was designed at the peak of the 1970s Energy Crisis, by the famous Los Angeles architectural firm Welton Becket, as the first smart building. This building was also designed around the movement of the sun. All of this was used to reduce energy usage. It was "green" before green was cool and was in several industry magazines of the day, as the future of highrise construction. It should make an amazing apartment tower! The angled sections on the glass wall also create multiple balconies. The largest of these balconies is perfect for a top-floor swimming-pool and bar.

612 West Fourth Street: New To This Thread!
2.15 acres, at the corner of West Fourth and Poplar streets, where Winston-Salem's popular Restaurant Row meets The Theatre District, was reported as under-contract and set to close within two or three days! It should be interesting to see what this developer proposes! Fourth and Trade streets are the most popular streets and this property is right at a proposed streetcar stop, across from a proposed hotel and artist lofts project.

The Village Lofts:
A model apartment is now open at The Village Lofts, above the future Mast General Store. These 48 micro-apartments will be ready for move-in by November 14th.

Credit: The Village Lofts

Credit: The Village Lofts

Credit: The Village Lofts

Flywheel Co-work:
Have you seen Flywheel's new neon sign? It was installed a week ago.

Credit: Flywheel Co-work

Link Apartments:
These are awesome and leasing fast! If you're looking for an apartment, be sure to visit The Link.

Ashley Complex:BUILT!
This 1.1 million square foot project is now completed! Expect to see hundreds of new jobs! The official grand opening is October 17, at 2 p.m.,. Still, no word on if they will move their Fortune 500 headquarters to Winston-Salem, as was rumored when this project was first announced. I think the CEO may have started that rumor himself?

Plant 64 Lofts:

Credit: Plant 64 Lofts

Another Tech Company Moves Downtown:
Tech company Dynamic Quest has moved into larger space in downtown Winston-Salem's Winston Tower, to be a part of downtown's excitement and to further support their growth.

Semans Arts Library:
This should be completed soon? This is one of my favorite construction projects in Winston-Salem to follow!

Credit: Zachary Hagerty

525@Vine:
525@Vine won a 2014 USGBC NC Sustainable Business Award for its developer BioMed Realty Trust. "BioMed Realty’s goal is to provide the best spaces for their tenants that include beauty and functionality. The historic nature of the building and the extensive demolition that needed to be performed created challenges and opportunities for the project. The design team developed an energy efficient lighting system and increased the efficiency of the HVAC system. Other sustainable elements incorporated into the project included the finishes and flooring (which all meet VOC requirements), use of regional and recycled materials, and maintain 75% of the building's structure."

I took several videos of 525@Vine in July 2013, as workers finished interior demolition. That was before this thread was started, so they were never posted on SSP. I thought I would post them now, to show the work described above.

414 Northwest:
This is the construction site seen at the bottom of this thread's June 10 post.

Credit: West & Stem

Credit: West & Stem

Credit: West & Stem

Credit: West & Stem

Credit: West & Stem

Bicycle & Pedestrian Infrastructure:

Bike & Pedestrian Infrastructure Usage:
Sensors on Fourth Street are collecting information about how people use the city's bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. The data collected will be shared, so informed decisions can be made about cycling infrastructure in the city. Fourth Street will have two types of counters, manufactured by Eco-Counter. ZELT inductive loops for monitoring cyclists in each direction and a Pyroelectric sensor that uses an infrared detection zone to count pedestrians.

Google Pedestrian View?
Google is updating their pedestrian and bicycle views for Winston-Salem. I'll check the maps for this update!

Credit: Ken Bennett

Placemaking:

Winston-Salem's Custom Bicycles:
Winston-Salem has a very impressive custom bicycle scene. I notice it on my trips there. I found this one on a recent search for updates. How do you ride that?

Oktoberfest:
I apologize for not reminding everyone of Winston-Salem's multiple Oktoberfest celebrations. I found a great photograph of an Oktoberfest celebration on Burke Street, which is a street we rarely show on this thread!

1800 N. Patterson:New to This Thread! #CityOfAdaptiveReuse
This beautiful Streamline Art Moderne industrial building was purchased by Ali Azzat Amer, who plans to renovate (adaptive reuse) the building. No details on his plans. Look at the awesome details on this building!

Credit: GSV

A New Salem College Dorm for Downtown?New to This Thread!
Salem College is rezoning an acre at 222 S. Church Street to pedestrian business. We are still waiting to see what they are proposing on this site. Salem College has several dorms nearby and rumors are this could be a dorm building. This site is across from City Hall South and a Wingate Hotel (see Wingate Hotel update below for news on this hotel!), just a block or so away from the 34-storey Wells Fargo Center. It should have a nice skyline view! Salem College expects to double in size in the next few years and is growing rapidly. It's always great news to have more college students downtown!

Atlantic Capital Headquarters:Built!

Credit: Stephen Edwards

Credit: WSF

Credit: WSF

Credit: WSF

Credit: WSF

Wingate Hotel:New to This Thread!
Tonight is hotel night at the Winston-Salem thread! Summit Hospitality has purchased the downtown hotel and is preparing for a major renovation. They are not prepared to release any details at this time, but did say to expect a "significant renovation!" This may include a change in the hotel flag? I guess we'll see what happens? This hotel is located where the Financial District meets the Innovation Quarter (IQ District) and Salem College (see possible Salem College Dorm above). Ken Crockett, from Summit Hospitality, said proximity to the IQ District was appealing. “You can get the combination of what would be future demand growth, job growth, which translates into hotel demand growth. Combined with the restaurant and entertainment venues in the downtown area, you kind of get the best of both worlds. We’re very intrigued with what Winston-Salem has achieved in their downtown and excited about the long-term potential, and that’s what attracted us there”

Hilton DoubleTree Madison Park Hotel:New to This Thread!
Thank you to zalo at WSTB for finding this one! Work should be completed on this 7-storey hotel in 2015. Winston-Salem's Madison Park area is a large office development that is home to companies such as National General Insurance, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of N.C., and Blue Rhino (yes, the propane tank exchange company). This is a great location for a DoubleTree Hotel.

Hotel Indigo:
Let the rumors begin! A Winston-Salem architect, that designed two Hotel Indigos in North Carolina, visited InterContinental Hotels Group's headquarters a few months ago and said to look for more news on another Hotel Indigo soon. Hotel Indigo has approved Downtown Winston-Salem as a site for a new hotel. Could this be the proposed hotel on Third Street or a possible new hotel proposal we don't know of yet?

Hotel Monaco:
Interior demolition on floors 1-4, of the 23-storey building, for Kimpton Hotels. According to UrbanMez, the architects held a meeting and shared the blueprints, along with their many options for the building. We are hoping they select a unique name and not use the Monaco name, but at least one hotel publication did say it's Hotel Monaco. I will use that name for the project until I hear differently.

Quote:

Originally Posted by UrbanMez @ WSTB

322 Green Street:
According to two forum members at WSTB, workers are Soil Testing and taking measurements on this site. Yes, a Soil Testing Rig was on the site! This is great news and a sign we could see construction in a few months?

1814 Salt-Flax House:
Wilson-Covington is installing radiant heat in the 200 year old home.

Credit: Wilson-Covington Construction

Wake Forest University Downtown Medical School:
According to a WSTB forum member, a meeting was held in the IQ District on Monday of this week. At the meeting, it was said the downtown medical school is now "a go" and students will move into the building in Summer 2016. They had completed blueprints for the adaptive reuse project and renderings of what the historic building will look like as a medical school! Expect construction to start on this adaptive reuse project very soon! Workers are already working inside the historic 1920s building!

Future Downtown Medical School:
Credit: GSV

Carolina Air and Auto Museum:
I don't recall seeing these renderings before? Hiring CJMW to design this new Winston-Salem museum is a smart choice! I love their work for Boeing.

Credit: CJMW Architecture / Carolina Air & Auto Museum

Credit: CJMW Architecture / Carolina Air & Auto Museum

Credit: CJMW Architecture / Carolina Air & Auto Museum

Semans Arts Library:
Still waiting to hear if this is built or if it's still under construction? It does appear to be close to completed? Until we have an answer to that question, here are a few photographs from Albert McDonald. Most are from October 9th.

Credit: Albert McDonald

Credit: Albert McDonald

Credit: Albert McDonald

Credit: Albert McDonald

Credit: Albert McDonald

More Jobs:
Dunlop's aircraft division is creating new jobs in a formerly vacant structure. They will invest nearly $10 million, according to their incentive request. The British company's 10-year plan for the new U.S. division is expected to include rapid expansion.

Even More Jobs:
Atrium is expanding again, in a 36,000 square foot space. No word on how many new jobs will be created.

Bailey Park @ East End:
Workers are now installing the landscaping.

Source: WFIQ

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals:
Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals in Winston-Salem, a leader in the growing field of cancer metabolism-based therapeutics, had great results from a Phase I clinical trial evaluating CPI-613 in advanced hematological malignancies. Results were published in the recent online issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the official journal of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR). CPI-613 is the company's lead Altered Energy Metabolism Directed (AEMD) drug candidate, a first-in-class anticancer compound designed to disrupt the altered energy-production pathways in cancer cells by targeting mitochondrial metabolism. The growth of these companies is always good news for downtown's IQ District.

Plant 64 Apartments:
These are making regional news for the amenities and quality of apartment units. I know I'm impressed! Look at that wall! It's original too!

Credit: Plant 64

More Students in Downtown's IQ District:
With the newest education labs opening last week, downtown Winston-Salem's IQ District now officially has 1,200 students. The total number of students in the IQ District could nearly double when Wake Forest University School of Medicine moves into their new downtown building at 4th and Vine streets in Summer 2016 (see Wake Forest University Downtown Medical School news above). There are maybe 10,000 (estimating) students in campuses along the edges of downtown. It's great adding students to the heart of downtown, on 5th and 4th streets, near the office towers, hotels, residences, and storefronts.

Bicycle & Pedestrian Infrastructure:

Green Street Pedestrian Bridge:
Patrick Ivy shared an update on this project. The Green Street Pedestrian Bridge is expected to cost $400,000 and construction will begin in 2016.

Placemaking:

Reynolda House Museum of American Art:
Barbara Babcock Millhouse donated a painting by one of American art’s most distinguished abstract expressionist artists to Winston-Salem's Reynolda House Museum of American Art. “Birth” is a large-scale oil painting by Lee Krasner and is now on display at the museum. Museum Director Allison Perkins said “Lee Krasner’s ‘Birth’ is a significant example of abstract expressionism, the first international art movement to have its roots in New York rather than Europe." "Birth” is one of the first paintings Krasner created after the death of her husband, fellow abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock in 1956. “She put everything into it. All her anger, all her feelings, the fleshy tones contrast with the gray, and the brush strokes seem violent.” Reynolda House Museum of American Art's nationally recognized collection includes masterworks of American painting, sculpture and photography by such artists as Mary Cassatt, Frederic Church, Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O’Keeffe and Gilbert Stuart.

New Record Store & Bar:
Record stores seem to be very popular in downtown Winston-Salem. How many does downtown Winston-Salem have? Four? The newest downtown record store is The Black Lodge, which also includes a small bar. It is located in the IQ District (Innovation Quarter) at 282 East Fourth Street. The record store and bar also has a weekly “Bring Your Own Vinyl” night on Wednesdays. “Bring Your Own Vinyl” starts at 5 p.m., on Wednesday nights and ends at 2 a.m.,.

Downtown Playground:
Look at this downtown playground for kids, on 7th Street, made from an old industrial building!

Credit: madeliene_rae

Great Apartment View:

Credit: Katie Wolf

Sunday Movies in the Park:
Looking for something free and fun to do downtown on a Sunday evening? You may want to try “Sunset Flicks” all this month at Winston Square Park, featuring movies, live music, beer, coffee, and food trucks. There are also fun art activities for kids, so bring the whole family! The fun starts at 6.

Second Sundays on 4th:

Credit: caminobakery

2014 Pride Winston-Salem:
This is a multi-day event and is one of the largest street festivals in Winston-Salem; expected to attract a crowd measured in the tens of thousands. It's the first Pride event in North Carolina, following the court ruling that allowed gay marriage in North Carolina! It should be a big celebration! In the festival city, Pride Winston-Salem is more than just a gay pride parade. Visit for all three days and if you want to see the parade, it's on Sunday.

Publix:
I thought the forum may find this interesting. Publix is building a grocery store that could reach 2-3 storeys in height, at the former Masonic Temple site, across from the 7-storey First Tennessee Bank Building. The site is so small, they have to build parking under the store! It will have an elevator, moving sidewalks, and is slightly smaller than the usual publix. I've seen multi-storey Publix stores like this in Miami, but I've never been to a grocery store with an elevator, moving sidewalks, and parking under the store. I'm guessing the moving sidewalks allow customers to take their carts from floor-to-floor? The next time I visit Winston-Salem, I may try to visit this store? It will be the only publix like this in the state too. Though they now have permits, I can't seem to find a rendering of this custom-designed Publix. It was announced a year ago, but they don't have a general contractor and don't expect to start construction until early next year? Whatever they are building must be very complex to require this much time for design and to fit it on the small site? I heard they paid a very high price for the site too. It's great to see a grocery store constructing upward instead of outward!

Plant 64:
Shortened from an interview in CP Executive:
The key factors that made Plant 64 appealing to investors were Pennrose’s strong reputation and track record for adaptive-reuse developments and the location of Plant 64 at the gateway of the Innovation Quarter, an industry leading hub for science and technology. Mark Dambly said “We were fortunate to have financing partners, such as Bank of America, Nationwide and Stonehenge Capital, who also envisioned the appeal and opportunities of this project.” Totaling 426,000 square feet, the group of five structures – three former factory buildings, a onetime storage warehouse, and an old power plant – will contain 242 new luxury loft apartments and 9,700 square feet of retail. At Plant 64, we are targeting people who are interested in living in an upscale, downtown location that includes modern amenities and apartment features.

Capstone Building provided an awesome October update on this $55 million adaptive reuse project! Thank you to Capstone for sharing these!

Credit: Capstone Building

Credit: Capstone Building

Credit: Capstone Building

Floor Number Art:
Credit: Capstone Building

Credit: Capstone Building

Credit: Capstone Building

Credit: Capstone Building

Credit: Capstone Building

Credit: Capstone Building

Credit: Capstone Building

Credit: Capstone Building

I found two older images from September that are also interesting:

Credit: Capstone Building

Credit: Capstone Building

The Growing Apartment Market:
According to NAI Earle Furman, the quarter-over-quarter occupancy level in Winston-Salem increased 0.5 points to 93 percent, with positive absorption. Winston-Salem’s unique mix of arts and entertainment, coupled with the tremendous development of the Innovation Quarter are driving the demand for class A apartment residences in this market. The Innovation Quarter is one of the fastest growing urban-based research parks in the U.S.

Allow me to summarize: Expect more apartment announcements.

B/E Aerospace Engineering Development Lab:
This is a building for aerospace engineers at Winston-Salem's B/E Aerospace to test their designs. I want to thank West & Stem for providing updates! I really want to see a video of the acceleration test sled in action!

Credit: West & Stem

Credit: West & Stem

Credit: West & Stem

Credit: West & Stem

Credit: West & Stem

Credit: West & Stem

Credit: West & Stem

Credit: West & Stem

Downtown Beach:
The development team behind West End Mill Works proposed cleaning-up the waterway along Canal Street and building a downtown beach along it. No renderings or details at this time. This sounds like fun!

The Village Lofts:
An exterior update! I love the new windows in this building! They do look very similar to the originals from the 1920s.

Credit: The Village Lofts

Bailey Park @ East End:
Cedar installation on the storage and public restroom building. This looks good!

Credit: Pete Fala

The Edge Flats:
The Edge Flats begin leasing, October 30, for Tower One. I think move-in is early next year? I was looking at the progress and noticed what appears to be a third 7-storey tower, under construction? Is it part of Tower Two or a third tower?

Credit: The Edge Flats

Credit: The Edge Flats

Union Station and Streetcar Maintenance Facility:
The city is already advertising for bids to start some of the renovation work. We could have this in the construction list soon!

Ashley Expansion?
Look for more jobs and construction at the Ashley site, soon! They expect to make the announcement in a few months.

50 West Fourth Apartments:
Finding an update on this building is rare! And it's in the middle of downtown, near a major photographed landmark!

Credit: W. Danny Khounsavanh

Transportation Infrastructure:

Don't forget to vote for Ted Kaplan! Register & Vote! Yes, he said this in the city's indie newspaper interview on the candidates!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ted Kaplan

“We could have light rail directly from downtown Winston-Salem to the airport,” he said. “You could park your car, catch a PART bus or light rail and go to the airport. It would be great.”

The candidate declined to speculate on a time frame for such an initiative.

Daniel Boone Property:
65 acres, in suburban Winston-Salem, that was once owned by the legendary pioneer Daniel Boone, is being auctioned. It's part of a 650-acre tract granted by the king of England to Daniel Boone's father, Squire Boone, in 1753. Squire Boone later sold the property to Daniel Boone. The land consists of the last remaining 65 acres that are in the Boone family.

If you're new to Winston-Salem, don't forget to visit the Daniel Boone Monument in Winston-Salem's historic West End, near Hanes Park and the Fish Market.

Love is Love Festival:
Be sure to attend the Love is Love Celebration, to commemorate the overturning of Amendment One, and honor and celebrate all loving relationships, and their importance to our individual and collective well-being. The event will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 from 2:30-4:30 p.m., at the Green Room.

BB&T Ballpark:
This is an interesting photograph of the ballpark. The ballpark is holding an event for families called Field of Fears. It's about defeating your fears.

Credit: Alexandra

Interesting Old Hotel:
I found this postcard, which features Moores' Knob (highest point in the Winston-Salem Metro Area) and an interesting Victorian hotel. I thought you may find it interesting?

Credit: N.C. Room / Winston-Salem Central Library

Winston-Salem Gay Pride Parade:
A few photographs of the event. Be sure to visit Winston-Salem for next year's Pride. Again, this is a multi-day festival.

Credit: Kennedy H

There are actually several different flags. Do you know all of them?
Credit: Amy L. Wagner

IQ District Skateboard Ban Defeated!
According to the Journal: When it came up for discussion on Monday, the council members who spoke showed little sympathy for a ban. This is an awesome city! Now the IQ District can start work building a skate park, to address their concerns, as part of the Bailey Power Plant development.

Council Member Molly Leight: “The more I thought about this, the more I have had a problem with banning skateboarding just simply because it is what the kids want – the freedom to skateboard. If there is a way in fact to protect certain surfaces, I think the sidewalks and whatever ought to allow skateboarding. I feel (a ban is) infringing on the freedom of kids to enjoy themselves.”

Council Member James Taylor: “We want to encourage skateboarding and discourage property damage."

Really interesting news about the Publix. I came from Florida where Publix reigns supreme, and love it (granted, Lowe's new stores are really nice too--maybe nicer than Publix). Also, I guess it's time for me to contribute something (albeit lazily and more regional):

It is interesting, because I wouldn't really call Publix' spot an urban location. Most of these multi-story grocery stores tend to be in denser areas. Hopefully it means this is a shift in the way the company develops all of its stores.

I can't wait and taste one of these sandwiches that every Floridian I know are crazy about.

We have Publix in Atlanta (they are everywhere in metro Atlanta) and they are usually my grocer of choice. The deli and bakery are awesome! Their store brands are also good. The person bagging the groceries will also push the cart to your car and help load them into your car for free (no tips). They have a "no tips" button on their shirt too. I'm guessing at Winston-Salem's store, they will push the cart into the elevator for you? That sounds so awesome!

None of the other stores Publix is opening (that I've seen) in North Carolina are like what they are proposing in Winston-Salem. It's not shift in how they do things. In Winston-Salem they found a highly desirable location that is too small for their usual stores, so they are going vertical with it. Because the lot is small, Winston-Salem's store will be around 10,000 square feet smaller than the usual Publix as well. it does appear as if everything you would find in a full-sized store is there though? I don't want to use the word "urban" until I see it, but it is being called an urban format store. In southern Florida, I've seen two-to-three storey Publix stores in neighborhoods very similar to this one. A multi-storey grocery store with parking under the building is very interesting.

Downtown Medical School:#CityOfAdaptiveReuse
It's now official! Winston-Salem's downtown medical school is under construction, as of Thursday, October 23, 2014. Whiting-Turner Construction Company is the general contractor. BioMed Realty Trust / Wexford Equities is the developer. Design Collective is the architect. Construction will be completed in Summer 2016. The Wake Forest University School of Medicine Building will contain a medical library, a medical school, a courtyard, and tech company office space. The Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the fourth most selective medical school in the nation, with an acceptance rate of 3.1%. Wake Forest University has already started moving parts of their medical school to downtown. The "U-shaped" downtown building, Wake Forest University's medical school is renovating, was built in 1923 as an industrial building (see photographs below). This is the largest building in downtown's IQ District.

Credit: wb256

It's the building on the right:
Credit: Kenneth Peter Diachenko II

A look inside the building. These are the "Before" photographs. In 2016, we will have the "After" photographs.

Credit: UrbanMez

Credit: UrbanMez

Credit: UrbanMez

Credit: UrbanMez

Apartment Vacancy Rate:
We now have the vacancy rate for downtown. Downtown Winston-Salem's apartment vacancy rate is 2.8%, according to Real Data. This is just for downtown and shows the large demand for downtown apartments. Yes, expect to see more apartments!

Mast General Store:
Mast General Store is the ground floor tenant of the building The Village Lofts is located in. The apartments and the store are two separate construction projects. Mast General Store is usually in touristy cities, around the Appalachian Mountains. It sells some of everything, from candy to books to toys to rocking chairs to mountain climbing gear to clothes and much more. The flooring you see in this building is recycled from the Pisgah National Forest Biltmore Lumber Co.,. Yes, the new "old" flooring is repurposed factory flooring! This sounds awesome! I posted the flooring installation and sanding, a few weeks ago.

Credit: The Village Lofts

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mast General Store

A few photos from our visit to our newest old location in Winston-Salem. Work is progressing and we are scheduled to open in May next year.

Notice the metal supports on the facade, for the new Mast General Store sign:
Credit: Mast General Store

Yes, Winston-Salem's Mast General Store is two storeys tall and will have steps: (Will this be the largest Mast General Store?)
Credit: Mast General Store

Reaves Building:
The AIA in Columbus, Ohio has nominated the Reaves Building in Winston-Salem for an award. Congratulations to Moody Nolan, Inc., and Woolpert! We won't know if it won anything until the middle of next month.

Credit: Columbus AIA

1770 Waller House:
This 244 year old house is currently being restored. The original structures on the site pre-date the American Revolution. If I can find more photographs of the progress, I would like to follow this restoration.

KeraNetics Expanding:
Winston-Salem based KeraNetics is quadrupling its space in the Innovation Quarter (IQ District) as the company prepares to begin human clinical trials next year. The regenerative medicine firm is moving to 200 E. First St., and using a $250,000 loan from the N.C. Biotechnology Center to help finance the renovation. Frank L. Blum Construction is the general contractor. The move should be completed by the end of next month and the company will seek Food & Drug Administration approval for its human clinical trials next year. Their studies will focus on healing partial thickness thermal burns, treating radiation dermatitis, and they are working to develop a product that helps with bone tissue regeneration. If you're looking for a job in downtown Winston-Salem, KeraNetics is hiring!

National Center for the Biotechnology Workforce:
Recently opened in downtown's IQ District. They signed a 10-year lease with BioMed Realty Trust and completed a $7 million upfit.

Credit: American City Business Journals

Credit: American City Business Journals

Nash Building:
Kit Rodenbough, from Design Archives, was kind enough to provide an update on their renovation of this former automobile showroom. Be sure to visit, when it opens on November 8th.

Credit: Kit Rodenbough

Credit: Kit Rodenbough

Credit: Kit Rodenbough

Credit: Kit Rodenbough

Hotel Monaco:
I can tell from the plastic in the open windows that workers are doing something on the upper floors? It's difficult to find updates on this project. I also noticed the hotel this development group is working on in Pittsburgh doesn't have many updates.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajr4187 @ WSTB

National Center for Design Innovation:
It's almost completed! Thank you to ajr4187 at WSTB for this update. This poster has several more photographs over there and you can enlarge them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajr4187 @ WSTB

Bailey Park @ East End:
The first phase of the new park is almost completed! ajr4187 @ WSTB shared several awesome photographs of it. I want to thank this poster for the update.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajr4187 @ WSTB

Vote for the Bonds, along with Kaplan and Hagan:
If you like downtown development, job creation, and transit projects, you should vote for Ted Kaplan for County Commission and vote for Kay Hagan for Senate. Also, if you live in Winston-Salem, be sure to vote YES for these bond packages:

-Economic Development
-Recreation
-Streets and Sidewalks

These three bonds need your support! They actually include a few projects we are talking about in this thread, such as the new regional tourist attraction park, alternative transportation projects, and the IQ District. VOTE EARLY! Take advantage of early voting right now!

Placemaking & Fun:

Ashe County's western border is the Tennessee State Line!
Credit: PBS

Great Photograph of SEAA HQ:
The image below is the headquarters of the Steel Erectors Association of America (SEAA). They are the national trade association representing the interests of steel erectors, fabricators, and related service providers. Yes, they are headquartered in downtown Winston-Salem's IQ District and I love their 125 year old building!

Credit: Naomi Gingerich

New Downtown Mural:
Winston-Salem born artist iamhieronymus is back with his latest work: Cage Free. Yes, this is the same artist who painted the awesome murals in Hoots Beer Co.,. He painted several murals around Winston-Salem and Los Angeles.

Winston-Salem in the Movies:
My favorite movie star is Winston-Salem! This is a movie called The Disappointments Room, starring Kate Beckinsale. Historic Winston-Salem rowhouses, in downtown's West End Village, will play the part of Brooklyn, New York. This movie will be in theatres in Fall 2015.

Another film, by locals (Sean Kelly), was seeking extras over the weekend. In the movie Folds, Winston-Salem will play the part of Chicago in the 1950s.

Halloween in Old Salem:
Don't forget to visit Old Salem for Halloween! They will have a ghost tour on Thursday night and you can see the entries in their jack-o-lantern carving contest. This is why Old Salem has jack-o-lanterns everywhere.

Credit: chuauaua

If you stop at the visitors' center, designed by starchitect Robert Venturi, be sure to look for this book:
Credit: Old Salem

Its hard to tell if this building is getting a good use being attached to the Piedmont Leaf Lofts. Its easy to miss but holds a ton of potential. A brewery would be great here judging by the design and convenient on site parking. Its opposite Bailey and hundreds of students are headed to 5th and 4th.

The Edge Flats. Very impressive from Bus 40 and Hawthorne. I was shocked at the size!

Courthouse Square projects.

Is it or isnt it? Still no confirmation if the Pepper Building is under construction yet. Fencing is up along Liberty along with a dumpster. Ladders and tools can be seen inside. Coe really doesnt publicize his projects that often. All indications say it must be u/c or at least in pre-construction phase.

Mixed-use Kimpton Hotel and apartments

50 West 4th St.(historic courthouse) 1,905 SF of retail/restaurant space will be available for lease. Great project!

Thank you for the updates on projects we usually don't see on this thread. That is also a great update on Kimpton's hotel and apartments development. Did you take any photographs at 705 North Main? That is another construction project I can't find anything on. Also, do you know if The Edge is two or three buildings? In the photographs I find, it almost appears to be three buildings?

The Pepper Building isn't under construction at this time. I've checked multiple times. They are throwing away the trash piled-up inside. I've heard there are 20-30 feet (around 7.5 meters) of trash in the elevator shafts, along with papers, furniture, and garbage on the floors. They have to throw-away the trash inside before they can start interior demolition. When it's under construction/interior demolition, I'll make a big post on it!

Projects & Construction:

Hotel Monaco:
Still hopeful Kimpton will select a unique name for the hotel and not use Monaco or Palomar.

1775 T. Bagge Merchant Building Renovation:New to This Thread!
The basement of this building, built in 1775, is being converted into a restaurant. It's on South Main Street, just a few blocks south of downtown's Wells Fargo Center. Wilson-Covington always has the most interesting construction projects! This building is almost 240 years old! We will follow this!

Credit: Wilson-Covington Construction

The building was built across from historic Salem Square Park in 1775 as a retail store. Since I see work in the basement, the new restaurant could be in the basement, with the store still operating upstairs? I guess we will see!

500 West Fifth Street and 601 West Fourth Street:
Trammell Crow is one of several developers interested in renovating these two former insurance buildings and building new ground-up construction on two surrounding sites. I think these two buildings and two surrounding sites will go to the highest bidder, which should be announced later this year.

Nash Building:

Credit: Sarah Jenkins

Millennium Center Roof:New to This Thread!
The 100 year old Millennium Center is frequently seen in magazines as one of the top places to hold weddings; it's often seen in movies and TV shows; has hosted many charity and corporate events in its grand ballroom; and it has hosted several concerts since 1994. This award winning event space is now working on plans for a rooftop venue that could hold 300 people. It's still in design & planning, with engineers working to determine if the roof can support this.

Wake Forest University Medical Center ICU Expansion:New to This Thread!
Wake Forest University Medical Center will begin construction on a new $16.5 million, 24 bed replacement, for their intensive care unit devoted to neurology patients. Completion is expected in fall 2015.

The Edge Flats:
A great photograph of Phase II of this 7-storey twin-towers project. These do create a nice wall along the expressway.

Credit: Edge Flats

Inmar Buys Hopster:
Winston-Salem based tech company Inmar has purchased Hopster; a company that allows people to connect to companies through social media and buying behaviors. Inmar is always expanding and always hiring in downtown Winston-Salem's IQ District. This is expected to bring a few more jobs to downtown. They may have doubled their revenue this year? It will be interesting to see if they need more office space downtown.

Mast General Store:
We now have confirmation. This will be the largest Mast General Store, at around 16,000 square feet. There are 10 Mast General Store locations, for those who want to know. The Trade Street entrance will become the main entrance. This is also where the clothing will be located. It appears as if the Fifth Street wing will become the candy and food sales floor. The Cherry Street entrance is for the apartments only. Mast General Store will also have another entrance (a bridge) from the parking deck beside the convention center. I posted a photograph of its construction in this thread on September 9. The staircase appears to be a centerpiece of the store? The grand staircase to the basement will lead to the outdoor clothing, shoes, and outdoor gear sales floor. This is a great retailer to have downtown! There are parts of the original wood flooring still in place and those will be refinished and reused. The areas in need of wood flooring will use the recycled wood, we talked about earlier, from old factories, to match the original flooring. To build a staircase to the basement and use that space, they had to cut into the thick concrete floor. It's very interesting.

For those who want to know: This was originally one of the nation's largest hardware stores (Brown Rogers Dixon Hardware). Brown Rogers Dixon was both a retail store and a catalog store. When the hardware store closed this location, it became an office building. Now it is being renovated into 48 apartments and Mast General Store. Some of those apartments are micro-apartments. The "T-shaped" building has entrances on three streets!

Don't Forget to Vote Today!
If you like downtown development, don't forget to vote! Downtown needs your vote! Remember to vote for Kay Hagan, Ted Kaplan, and vote for at least these three bonds: Economic Development - Recreation - Streets & Sidewalks

Historic Hanes Park will be restored, if you vote for the Recreation Bonds!
Credit: bowlingalleylawyer

Placemaking & Fun:

Did you know: According to DWSP, Annie Oakley, from the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, was injured in a train crash and taken to a hospital in downtown Winston-Salem in 1901.

South's Best Foodie Cities:
Winston-Salem is on the list of the South's 8 best foodie cities, by Deep South Magazine. All of the restaurants they wrote about are downtown, along Fourth Street's Restaurant Row or along Trade Street. The next time you're downtown, be sure to try some of the restaurants. They really are an attraction for the city.